CMS focuses marketing efforts on young adults

Not only will health insurance exchanges open on time on Oct. 1, but the federal government is proactively working to market the online marketplaces and educate the public, FierceHealthcare reported. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is particularly focused on reaching young adults through various tactics, including leveraging mobile media applications and getting help from sports teams, according to CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner. "We're trying to do it through sports, through media applications--your iPhone, iPad--the types of things that younger individuals tend to use," Tavenner told the Dallas Morning News. "We also have external marketing groups who are focusing energy on what's appealing to a young person. It's not the idea of cancer or a heart attack; it's the idea of a sports injury. How do you get protected around these things?" The administration recognizes its primary challenge to running successful exchanges is "getting consumers comfortable with what's going to be available and helping to manage their expectations," she added. "It's making people aware of how you get started." --Read the full article at FierceHealthcare